Offa of Mercia

Offa of Mercia (730-July 796) was King of Mercia from 757 to 796, succeeding Beornred of Mercia and preceding Egfrith of Mercia.

Biography
Offa was the son of Thingfrith, and after the assassination of Aethelbald of Mercia Offa defeated the rival claimant Beornred of Mercia to become king himself. He took over the Kingdom of Kent during a period of Kentish weakness and in 771 took over Sussex, and he allied with Beorhtric of Wessex. In 794, he had Aethelbert II of East Anglia beheaded for rebelling against him. He was the most powerful Anglo-Saxon ruler before Alfred the Great.